1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sound absorber which can be used in a muffler for an internal-combustion engine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been known to use a glass wool, a porous ceramic board and a porous metal board as a sound absorber used in a muffler for an internal-combustion engine. When these boards are used as the sound absorber, a tar or a soot as a combustion residue of gasoline is adhered on the surface of the board to cause clogging for a relatively short time during the operation of an internal-combustion engine whereby the sound absorption characteristic is lowered and the noise is increased.
When the glass wool or the porous ceramic is used as a sound absorber in a muffler for an internal-combustion engine, a flow speed of an exhaust gas is usually fast and a vibration is usually high whereby the sound absorber may be pulverized or damaged and can not be practically used.
The exhaust gas in the muffler is usually at a high temperature as about 400.degree. to 800.degree. C. and contains corrosive sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides. Therefore, when the porous metal substrate is used in the muffler, serious corrosion is caused by the oxidation at high temperature and the clogging is caused by the corrosion product or the base of the porous metal substrate is corroded to be diminished and it can not be practically used except using a special heat resistant alloy for the porous metal substrate. Moreover, as the fundamental property of the porous metal substrate, pore diameters are relatively large and a porous metal substrate having excellent sound absorption characteristic is not easily obtained. These conventional products could not be practically used in the muffler for the internal combustion engine.